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> 'pocket picker' illustrates my point though, you swapped the verb for noun form, and it became the other way around.

No, "pickpocket" is already a noun, and it means "pocket picker". Just like "kiss-ass".



'picker' compounded in 'pocket picker' is a noun, and 'pick' compounded in 'pickpocket' is a verb.

'kiss' ...


Suppose you want to describe someone by the action they perform. There is a normal way to do this, and "pocket picker" is an example of it.

There is also an extremely marked, almost-never-used way to do it, and "pickpocket" is an example of that.

What are you trying to say?




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